HistoricSiteMarkers
American Revolution

"Common Sense"

Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

At his print shop here, Robert Bell published the first edition of Thomas Paine's revolutionary pamphlet in January 1776. Arguing for a republican form of government under a written constitution, it played a key role in rallying American support for independence.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

In January 1776, at Robert Bell's print shop on this ground, the first edition of Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" rolled off the press and into the hands of a colonial public still hesitant about breaking from Britain. Written in plain, fiery language, the pamphlet made the case for independence and a republic governed by a written constitution. It spread through the colonies with astonishing speed, selling in the tens of thousands and shifting public opinion just months before the Declaration of Independence.

Why it matters

Few printed works did more to turn colonial grievance into a movement for independence, making this a birthplace of the ideas that founded the United States.

The story behind this marker

AI context

The era

In January 1776, the American colonies were at war with Britain but had not yet declared themselves independent of it. Many colonists still hoped for reconciliation, thinking of themselves as aggrieved Englishmen seeking their rights rather than as a separate people. The idea of a clean break — and of governing themselves without a king — struck many as radical, even unthinkable.

Philadelphia sat at the heart of this ferment. It was among the largest cities in the colonies, a center of printing, commerce, and political argument, and soon the meeting place of the Continental Congress. Ideas printed here could travel quickly through the network of colonial newspapers and readers.

Into that hesitant, divided moment came a pamphlet that would help push a wavering public toward independence — and it came off a press right here.

People & events

The pamphlet was Thomas Paine's, and the printer was Robert Bell, who published its first edition at his shop on this ground in January 1776. Paine, a recent arrival to the colonies, wrote in blunt, vivid language that ordinary readers could grasp, stripping away the reverence that surrounded monarchy and making the case for self-government in plain terms.

His argument was direct: that the colonies should adopt a republican form of government under a written constitution, and that continued loyalty to a distant crown made neither moral nor practical sense. Where earlier appeals had asked Britain for fairness, this one asked Americans to imagine themselves free.

Bell's decision to print it mattered as much as Paine's decision to write it. A pamphlet is only powerful once it exists in thousands of hands, and the work of the press turned a manuscript into a force that rallied American support for independence in the crucial months before the summer of 1776.

Its place in the American story

Few printed works have done more to change the course of a nation. By arguing for independence and for a republic governed by a written constitution, Paine's pamphlet helped move public opinion at precisely the moment when the country's future hung in the balance. It reframed the conflict from a quarrel over rights within the British Empire into a struggle to found something new.

The pamphlet also modeled a distinctly American idea: that political argument belongs to everyone, not just to the educated few. Its plain style invited farmers, tradesmen, and shopkeepers into a debate that would shape their lives, and in doing so it helped create the engaged public that a republic requires.

That this world-shaking text first reached readers from a Philadelphia print shop makes this a genuine birthplace of the ideas behind the United States.

If you visit

Standing here, remember that you're on the ground where an idea entered the world in ink and paper. There may be little of the original shop to see, so let your imagination do the work: picture a small, busy press turning out sheets that would soon be argued over in taverns and parlors up and down the coast.

This spot belongs in any walk through revolutionary Philadelphia. It sits within the same historic heart of the city that gave rise to the Continental Congress and the Declaration of Independence, and visiting it adds a crucial piece to that story — the moment when the public was persuaded, not just the moment when leaders signed.

Come thinking about the power of plain words. The pamphlet worked because anyone could read it, and standing where it was printed is a fine reminder that some of history's most important events are made of nothing more than an argument, well made, at the right time.

Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.

Plan your visit

Nearby

Make a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.

Museums & culture

Attractions

Food & drink

  • FRIEDA
    0.5 mi away · 320 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
  • Olivier Cafe
    0.6 mi away · 50 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
  • Buddakan
    0.6 mi away · 325 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
  • Talula's Garden
    0.6 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
  • Franklin Social
    0.6 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
  • Talula's Daily
    0.6 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA

Places to stay

Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Related people

  • · Thomas Paine
  • · Robert Bell

Related events

  • · Publication of Common Sense (1776)

Themes & tags

American RevolutionLandmark

Nearby & related markers

Thaddeus Kosciuszko

Philadelphia, PA · est. 1967

Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a Polish-born military engineer whose fortifications helped the Continental Army win the Revolution, most famously at Saratoga and West Point. After the war he returned home to lead a doomed uprising for Polish independence, and when exile brought him back to America he lodged in this Philadelphia house in 1797–1798. Here he received visitors including Thomas Jefferson and drafted a will devoting his American assets to freeing and educating enslaved people.

American Revolution

Commodore John Barry (1745-1803)

Philadelphia, PA · est. 2014

John Barry went to sea as a boy from Ireland and rose to command his own merchant ship in Philadelphia by his early twenties. During the Revolution he won a string of daring engagements, many along the Delaware River, and after independence President Washington named him the first commissioned officer of the new United States Navy, where he oversaw the building of its first frigates. Often called the 'Father of the American Navy,' he served until his death in 1803.

American Revolution

Tun Tavern

Philadelphia, PA · est. 2005

Near this spot stood Tun Tavern, a colonial Philadelphia public house that operated from 1693 until 1781 and, by tradition, served as the recruiting ground for the first battalions of Continental Marines. When the Continental Congress authorized two battalions of Marines on November 10, 1775, the fledgling corps drew its first volunteers here—a birthplace the Marine Corps still honors with its motto, Semper Fidelis.

American Revolution

Walnut Street Prison

Philadelphia, PA · est. 2008

Rising in Philadelphia during the Revolution, the Walnut Street Prison held a turbulent mix of humanity from 1775 to 1838 — common felons, debtors, captured British prisoners of war, and loyalist Tories alike. Its crowded cellblocks stretching from Walnut to Locust Street were the scene of repeated riots, but the institution also became a proving ground for early American ideas about punishment and reform. It was eventually superseded by the vast, radial Eastern State Penitentiary.

American Revolution